Biggert was born Judith Gail Borg in Chicago on August 15, 1937, the second of four children of Alvin Andrew Borg and Marjorie Virginia (Mailler) Borg. Her father Alvin A. Borg worked for the Chicago-based Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore chain in the United States, for 41 years from 1928 to 1969, and served as its president from 1963 to 1969, succeeding Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. and succeeded by Charles R. Walgreen III.[1] Her paternal grandparents immigrated from Finland and her maternal family is of English descent.[2]

Biggert left her federal court law clerkship to have her children, but later did some legal work from her home for family and friends on wills, trusts and real estate.[4][6] She served on numerous boards of voluntary and civic organizations.[4][6]

Biggert was elected to the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education in 1978 and was a board member until 1985, serving as president from 1983 to 1985.[5] She served as chairman of the Hinsdale Plan Commission from 1989 to 1993.[5]

In 1992, Biggert was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives to serve the redrawn 81st District. She was re-elected in 1994 and 1996 before running for Congress in 1998.

Biggert supported the partial privatization of Social Security, in which individuals could choose to voluntarily divert 2% of their Social Security tax payments from paying Social Security beneficiaries into individual private accounts which they could invest in the stock market and which they could pass on to their heirs.[27][28]

In 1998, Biggert narrowly defeated conservative state Senator Peter Roskam in the Republican primary, the real contest in this ancestrally Republican district. Biggert earned 61% of the vote to win the seat opened up by the retirement of U. S. Representative Harris Fawell. In 2006, Roskam was elected to Congress from another district.

In 2008, Biggert received less than 54% of the vote overall (and less than 50% of the vote in Will County) in winning reelection to her sixth term in Congress in her first general election campaign against a financially competitive opponent, businessman Scott Harper. In 2008, Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin was reelected with 60% of the vote and Democrat Barack Obama won 54% of the vote in the 13th Congressional District,[15] with even Biggert's Republican predecessor, Fawell, supporting Obama.[31]

In the redistricting following the 2010 census, the Democratic-controlled state legislature significantly altered Illinois's congressional map, splitting Biggert's district. Her district was renumbered as the 11th District, and made significantly more Democratic even though it contains 50 percent of Biggert's former territory. A portion of her former district that included Biggert's home in Hinsdale was combined with the heavily Democratic Chicago North Side-based 5th District. Biggert opted to run in the new 11th against the Democratic nominee, former 14th District Congressman Bill Foster.[32]

On September 21, 1963,[53] she married Rody Patterson Biggert, Jr. Rody and Judy Biggert lived in Chicago, then Wilmette,[54] before moving to Hinsdale in 1971, when Rody's mother sold them her home, the extensively remodeled 1864 mansion of Hinsdale's founder, William Robbins, in the Robbins Park Historic District.[55] The Biggerts have four children: Courtney Caverly, Alison Cabot,[56] Rody Biggert,[54] and Adrienne Morrell,[57][58] and nine grandchildren.[5]

Since 2004, Biggert's youngest daughter Adrienne Morrell has been a registered lobbyist for Health Net, the sixth largest publicly traded for-profit managed healthcare company; previously Morrell was a lobbyist with America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the chief health insurance industry lobby, after having served as an aide to former seven-term Illinois 13th District U.S. Rep. Harris Fawell, Biggert's predecessor in Congress.[57][58]

In 2008, multimillionaire Biggert was the second wealthiest—after U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-14)—in Illinois's 21-member Congressional delegation, and the 82nd wealthiest member in the U.S. House.[59]

Biggert was president of the Junior Board of the Chicago Travelers Aid Society in 1969, and president of the Junior League of Chicago from 1976 to 1978, chairman of board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago in 1978, and president of the Oak School elementary school PTA in Hinsdale from 1976 to 1978. She was a member of the board of directors of the Salt Creek Ballet from 1990 to 1998. She was also a Sunday school teacher at Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale from 1974 to 1984, and an American Youth Soccer Organization assistant soccer coach in 1983.[5][5]

^ abcPage, Eleanor (January 16, 1977). "Biggert leads Junior League in new project". Chicago Tribune. p. D3. Retrieved 2010-10-29. She became a law clerk to a federal judge, leaving to have her first child. She now practices on her own, handling mostly real estate and estate business for family and friends.

^ abJouzaitis, Carol (March 26, 1982). "Executives' wives have made coping a full-time job". Chicago Tribune. p. A23. Retrieved 2010-10-29. I worked as a lawyer for a year, and had every intention of continuing, but there was pressure from all sides to have a family. Then I had three children in three years and there was no way I could continue to work. So what I did was to get very involved in organizations even when the children were young. I've been on lots and lots of boards, the Junior League of Chicago and Hinsdale District 86...I do some (legal work on) wills and real estate, but it's been 15 years since I really practiced law...Physically, I couldn't work full time, have a husband and a house to take care of. In the voluntary sector, you can pick the time you want to spend.

^Doubek, Madeleine (December 9, 1998). "Biggert makes presence felt at meeting on Social Security". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights). Retrieved 2010-11-02. Biggert's own belief that citizens should be allowed to set up personal accounts and invest their own Social Security taxes in the stock market got plenty of attention Tuesday from congressional leaders.

^Grady, William (July 16, 1998). "Money pouring in for Biggert; candidates spar over donations in 13th District". Chicago Tribune. p. 1 (Metro DuPage). Retrieved 2010-11-02. Hynes has voiced support for public funding of congressional campaigns, a proposal Biggert opposes. Biggert favors an end to the limits on campaign contributions—now $1,000 for individuals and $5,000 for political action committees—but would require quicker disclosure of all donations.

^Winfield, Paige (November 2, 2008). "Will local voters be swayed by love for Obama or dislike for Blagojevich?". Naperville Sun. p. 5. Retrieved 2010-11-02. Harris Fawell, former congressman for the 13th Congressional District, is backing a Democrat for president for the first time in his life. The 79-year-old Republican said there's a good chance that Obama will carry the county. "He's the best I have seen, the most qualified I've ever seen running for president," Fawell said.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1992). State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election, general primary March 17, 1992. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 168. OCLC4960540.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1992). State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election November 3, 1992. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 99. OCLC4960532.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1994). State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election, general primary March 15, 1994. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 96. OCLC4960540.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1994). State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election November 8, 1994. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 75. OCLC4960532.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1996). State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election, general primary March 19, 1996. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 150. OCLC4960540.

^Illinois State Board of Elections (1996). State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election November 5, 1996. Springfield, Ill.: State Board of Elections. p. 78. OCLC4960532.

^ abSweet, Lynn (November 17, 1998). "Finding their way around the House". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 6. Retrieved 2010-10-29. Biggert has a sense of urgency in part because she pledged to serve only three terms... Biggert's daughter Adrienne, 24, lives in Washington and worked for Rep. Harris Fawell (R-Ill.), whose retirement opened up the seat Biggert won. "I think she really liked working on the Hill in the House," said Biggert, who felt bad because "she doesn't feel comfortable going back and doing that again."